Arthur Kipps
Overview Kipps is the main protagonist in the 1983 novella 'The Woman In Black', written by Susan Hill. The year that the story is set in is difficult to pinpoint, although we can make inferences based on some of the information within the book. Early Life Arthur Kipps was born in Sussex, England. The book indicates that he was close to his parents, his mother in particular, and his nursemaid. He refers to his mother and his nursemaid as "the two people he loved most in the world" when he was a child. He also had a brother, although there was no indication as to whether he was older or younger than Arthur. Furthermore, there are no particular dates or years mentioned in the book, making it difficult to pinpoint when the story took place and, therefore, when Kipps was born. This adds to the unsettling feeling that the story gives the reader. However, we can infer that Arthur visited Eel Marsh House in the early to mid-20th century, from the stage that technology appears to be at during that period and a couple of hints within the story (see Nathaniel Drablow for more in-depth analysis). As Kipps was about twenty-one years old when his story took place, his birth would have been twenty-one years prior to the year 'The Woman In Black' is set in. Biography Arthur Kipps was a young solicitor, aged around 21, who was sent to attend a client's funeral in a rural county, and to collect paper from her house. The townspeople seemed reluctant, uncomfortable and often scared or alarmed when talking about Mrs Drablow and Eel Marsh House, and Kipps found out why soon enough. He endured countless horrors during his stay in Crythin Gifford and suffered the consequences afterwards with the death of his wife and son, as any sighting of the woman dressed in black heralds the death of a child. Arthur's full story is detailed on the home page, under both 'Plot Synopsis' and '(Very) Detailed Plot'. After Stella and Joseph's deaths, Arthur became more responsible in Mr Bentley's firm and got an increase in salary. Mr Bentley was sorry to have sent Arthur out on the Drablow case, which Kipps asked never to hear of again - and so didn't. It was several years before he was ready to, but Arthur did remarry and became a stepfather, and eventually a stepgrandfather, and moved into Monk's Piece. He had once seen the beautiful house in the country just outside of London whilst out in the horse and trap with Mr Bentley, and he had fallen in love with it. He mentions that he had had a certainty there and then that it would one day be his, and that he had, in due course, moved into it with his family shortly after his marriage to Esme. Personal Life Arthur had been engaged to Stella prior to his journey to Crythin Gifford, which was in November, and they were set to marry the following spring. However, after the events of that November, Arthur found that he had a new sense of time and an urgency to enjoy life whilst he still could, and so he and Stella married within six weeks of returning to London. They had a child within a year of marrying, Joseph, but Arthur lost them both to the woman in black just a year later (see Stella Kipps or Joseph Kipps). Arthur remarried twelve years later, to Esme Ainley, and became stepfather to her four children from her previous marriage to the late Captain Ainley; Isobel Pearce (nee Ainley), Oliver, William and Edmund. He enjoyed his life with them, and although he had grown happier and had managed to put a lot of his time in Crythin in the past, he was still haunted by nightmares and some memories. Kipps decided to write his story down after Oliver and William were trying to get him to tell ghost stories, which agitated him more than he would have thought, but promised himself that he would never tell anybody. They would only ever know by reading his manuscript once he had, one day, died. Appearance Kipps does not offer any physical description of himself during his time as a young man, we only know that he was young and kept a smart, respectable appearance. However, he does say at the beginning of the book, when he is a considerably older man, that he was -- "growing old well before my time, a sombre, pale-complexioned man with a strained expression - a dull dog," In the 2012 film, Arthur appears as a very young man with very dark hair and green-grey eyes. He is quite pale and of an average height, neither particularly short nor tall. In the 1989 film, Kipps has red hair and appears to be a bit taller, his skin slightly less pale than that of the 2012 Kipps. Quotes Portrayed By In the 1989 film, Arthur Kipps is portrayed by actor Adrian Rawlins. In the 2012 film, he is portrayed by actor Daniel Radcliffe. There is a remarkable link between these two actors in their professional careers - Rawlins plays the character of James Potter in the Harry Potter film series, in which Radcliffe plays the title character, James Potter's son. Category:Protagonist Category:The Woman In Black Category:Daniel Radcliffe Category:Human